Electric Version (20 Year Anniversary Edition)

In the early 2000s, this Canadian indie poppin' rockin' troupe was on a sugar high. A veritable super group of songwriters, namely Carl Newman, Neko Case, and Dan "Destroyer" Bejar, The New Pornographers released this - their second album - in 2003 to heady acclaim. With the New York Times comparing them to a hot pot of Beach Boys, Syd Barrett, and Cheap Trick, we think its 20th anniversary is the perfect time to revisit this gem.

As for the music: no sophomore slumping to be found here. Back then we wrote, “With impossibly huge hooks and an innate understanding of every pop trick in the book, this follow-up to 2000’s breakthrough ‘Mass Romantic’ is the most exciting pop record we’ve heard in a long while.” For once, tastemakers of the day shared our enthusiasm. “The New Pornographers mix the pop purism of the Beach Boys, the power charge of Cheap Trick and the gentle psychedelia of Syd Barrett,” wrote the New York Times, who labeled ‘Electric Version’ “Some of the best pop of the year.”

Tracklist